The International System of Units (SI)

Transcription

1 Bureau International des Poids et Mesures The International System of Units (SI) 8th edition 2006 Organisation Intergouvernementale de la Convention du Mètre

2 94 Note on the use of the English text To make its work more widely accessible, the International Committee for Weights and Measures has decided to publish an English version of its reports. Readers should note that the official record is always that of the French text. This must be used when an authoritative reference is required or when there is doubt about the interpretation of the text. Translations, complete or partial, of this brochure (or of its earlier editions) have been published in various languages, notably in Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, English, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. The ISO and numerous countries have also published standards and guides to the use of SI units.

3 95 The BIPM and the Metre Convention The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) was set up by the Metre Convention signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by seventeen States during the final session of the diplomatic Conference of the Metre. This Convention was amended in The BIPM has its headquarters near Paris, in the grounds ( m 2 ) of the Pavillon de Breteuil (Parc de Saint-Cloud) placed at its disposal by the French Government; its upkeep is financed jointly by the Member States of the Metre Convention. The task of the BIPM is to ensure worldwide unification of measurements; its function is thus to: establish fundamental standards and scales for the measurement of the principal physical quantities and maintain the international prototypes; carry out comparisons of national and international standards; ensure the coordination of corresponding measurement techniques; carry out and coordinate measurements of the fundamental physical constants relevant to these activities. The BIPM operates under the exclusive supervision of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) which itself comes under the authority of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) and reports to it on the work accomplished by the BIPM. Delegates from all Member States of the Metre Convention attend the General Conference which, at present, meets every four years. The function of these meetings is to: discuss and initiate the arrangements required to ensure the propagation and improvement of the International System of Units (SI), which is the modern form of the metric system; confirm the results of new fundamental metrological determinations and various scientific resolutions of international scope; take all major decisions concerning the finance, organization and development of the BIPM. The CIPM has eighteen members each from a different State: at present, it meets every year. The officers of this committee present an annual report on the administrative and financial position of the BIPM to the Governments of the Member States of the Metre Convention. The principal task of the CIPM is to ensure worldwide uniformity in units of measurement. It does this by direct action or by submitting proposals to the CGPM. As of 31 December 2005, fifty-one States were members of this Convention: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Rep. of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Dem. People's Rep. of), Korea (Rep. of), Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Twenty States and Economies were Associates of the General Conference: Belarus, CARICOM, Chinese Taipei, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, Estonia, Hong Kong (China), Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Panama, Philippines, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Viet Nam.

4 96 The activities of the BIPM, which in the beginning were limited to measurements of length and mass, and to metrological studies in relation to these quantities, have been extended to standards of measurement of electricity (1927), photometry and radiometry (1937), ionizing radiation (1960), time scales (1988) and to chemistry (2000). To this end the original laboratories, built in , were enlarged in 1929; new buildings were constructed in for the ionizing radiation laboratories, in 1984 for the laser work and in 1988 for a library and offices. In 2001 a new building for the workshop, offices and meeting rooms was opened. Some forty-five physicists and technicians work in the BIPM laboratories. They mainly conduct metrological research, international comparisons of realizations of units and calibrations of standards. An annual report, the Director s Report on the Activity and Management of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, gives details of the work in progress. Following the extension of the work entrusted to the BIPM in 1927, the CIPM has set up bodies, known as Consultative Committees, whose function is to provide it with information on matters that it refers to them for study and advice. These Consultative Committees, which may form temporary or permanent working groups to study special topics, are responsible for coordinating the international work carried out in their respective fields and for proposing recommendations to the CIPM concerning units. The Consultative Committees have common regulations (BIPM Proc.-Verb. Com. Int. Poids et Mesures, 1963, 31, 97). They meet at irregular intervals. The president of each Consultative Committee is designated by the CIPM and is normally a member of the CIPM. The members of the Consultative Committees are metrology laboratories and specialized institutes, agreed by the CIPM, which send delegates of their choice. In addition, there are individual members appointed by the CIPM, and a representative of the BIPM (Criteria for membership of Consultative Committees, BIPM Proc.-Verb. Com. Int. Poids et Mesures, 1996, 64, 124). At present, there are ten such committees: 1. The Consultative Committee for Electricity and Magnetism (CCEM), new name given in 1997 to the Consultative Committee for Electricity (CCE) set up in 1927; 2. The Consultative Committee for Photometry and Radiometry (CCPR), new name given in 1971 to the Consultative Committee for Photometry (CCP) set up in 1933 (between 1930 and 1933 the CCE dealt with matters concerning photometry); 3. The Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT), set up in 1937; 4. The Consultative Committee for Length (CCL), new name given in 1997 to the Consultative Committee for the Definition of the Metre (CCDM), set up in 1952; 5. The Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency (CCTF), new name given in 1997 to the Consultative Committee for the Definition of the Second (CCDS) set up in 1956; 6. The Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation (CCRI), new name given in 1997 to the Consultative Committee for Standards of Ionizing Radiation (CCEMRI) set up in 1958 (in 1969 this committee established four sections:

5 97 Section I (X- and γ-rays, electrons), Section II (Measurement of radionuclides), Section III (Neutron measurements), Section IV (α-energy standards); in 1975 this last section was dissolved and Section II was made responsible for its field of activity); 7. The Consultative Committee for Units (CCU), set up in 1964 (this committee replaced the Commission for the System of Units set up by the CIPM in 1954); 8. The Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities (CCM), set up in 1980; 9. The Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance: Metrology in chemistry (CCQM), set up in 1993; 10. The Consultative Committee for Acoustics, Ultrasound and Vibration (CCAUV), set up un The proceedings of the General Conference and the CIPM are published by the BIPM in the following series: Report of the meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures; Report of the meeting of the International Committee for Weights and Measures. The CIPM decided in 2003 that the reports of meetings of the Consultative Committees should no longer be printed, but would be placed on the BIPM website, in their original language. The BIPM also publishes monographs on special metrological subjects and, under the title The International System of Units (SI), a brochure, periodically updated, in which are collected all the decisions and recommendations concerning units. The collection of the Travaux et Mémoires du Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (22 volumes published between 1881 and 1966) and the Recueil de Travaux du Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (11 volumes published between 1966 and 1988) ceased by a decision of the CIPM. The scientific work of the BIPM is published in the open scientific literature and an annual list of publications appears in the Director s Report on the Activity and Management of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Since 1965 Metrologia, an international journal published under the auspices of the CIPM, has printed articles dealing with scientific metrology, improvements in methods of measurement, work on standards and units, as well as reports concerning the activities, decisions and recommendations of the various bodies created under the Metre Convention.

6 98 The International System of Units Contents The BIPM and the Metre Convention 95 Preface to the 8th edition Introduction Quantities and units The International System of Units (SI) and the corresponding system of quantities Dimensions of quantities Coherent units, derived units with special names, and the SI prefixes SI units in the framework of general relativity Units for quantities that describe biological effects Legislation on units Historical note SI units SI base units Definitions Unit of length (metre) Unit of mass (kilogram) Unit of time (second) Unit of electric current (ampere) Unit of thermodynamic temperature (kelvin) Unit of amount of substance (mole) Unit of luminous intensity (candela) Symbols for the seven base units SI derived units Derived units expressed in terms of base units Units with special names and symbols; units that incorporate special names and symbols Units for dimensionless quantities, also called quantities of dimension one Decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units SI prefixes The kilogram 122

7 99 4 Units outside the SI Non-SI units accepted for use with the SI, and units based on fundamental constants Other non-si units not recommended for use Writing unit symbols and names, and expressing the values of quantities Unit symbols Unit names Rules and style conventions for expressing values of quantities Value and numerical value of a quantity, and the use of quantity calculus Quantity symbols and unit symbols Formatting the value of a quantity Formatting numbers, and the decimal marker Expressing the measurement uncertainty in the value of a quantity Multiplying or dividing quantity symbols, the values of quantities, or numbers Stating values of dimensionless quantities, or quantities of dimension one 134 Appendix 1. Decisions of the CGPM and the CIPM 137 Appendix 2. Practical realization of the definitions of some important units 172 Appendix 3. Units for photochemical and photobiological quantities 173 List of acronyms 175 Index 177

8

9 101 Preface to the 8th edition We have pleasure in introducing the 8th edition of this publication, commonly called the SI Brochure, which defines and presents the Système International d Unités, the SI (known in English as the International System of Units). This Brochure is published as a hard copy, and is also available in electronic form at Since 1970, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, the BIPM (known in English as the International Bureau of Weights and Measures), has published seven previous editions of this document. Its main purpose is to define and promote the SI, which has been used around the world as the preferred language of science and technology since its adoption in 1948 through a Resolution of the 9th Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures, the CGPM (known in English as the General Conference on Weights and Measures). The SI is, of course, a living system which evolves, and which reflects current best measurement practice. This 8th edition therefore contains a number of changes since the previous edition. As before, it lists the definitions of all the base units, and all the Resolutions and Recommendations of the Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures and the Comité International des Poids et Mesures, the CIPM (known in English as the International Committee for Weights and Measures), relating to the International System of Units. Formal reference to CGPM and CIPM decisions are to be found in the successive volumes of the Comptes Rendus of the CGPM (CR) and the Procès- Verbaux of the CIPM (PV); many of these are also listed in Metrologia. To simplify practical use of the system, the text provides explanations of these decisions, and the first chapter provides a general introduction to establishing a system of units and to the SI in particular. The definitions and the practical realizations of all the units are also considered in the context of general relativity. A brief discussion of units associated with biological quantities has been introduced for the first time. Appendix 1 reproduces, in chronological order, all the decisions (Resolutions, Recommendations, Declarations) promulgated since 1889 by the CGPM and the CIPM on units of measurement and the International System of Units. Appendix 2 exists only in the electronic version, which is available at It outlines the practical realization of some important units, consistent with the definitions given in the principal text, which metrological laboratories can make to realize physical units and to calibrate material standards and measuring instruments of the highest quality. This appendix will be updated regularly to reflect improvements in the experimental techniques for realizing the units. Appendix 3 presents units used to measure actinic effects in biological materials.

10

11 103 1 Introduction 1.1 Quantities and units The value of a quantity is generally expressed as the product of a number and a unit. The unit is simply a particular example of the quantity concerned which is used as a reference, and the number is the ratio of the value of the quantity to the unit. For a particular quantity, many different units may be used. For example, the speed v of a particle may be expressed in the form v = 25 m/s = 90 km/h, where metre per second and kilometre per hour are alternative units for expressing the same value of the quantity speed. However, because of the importance of a set of well defined and easily accessible units universally agreed for the multitude of measurements that support today s complex society, units should be chosen so that they are readily available to all, are constant throughout time and space, and are easy to realize with high accuracy. In order to establish a system of units, such as the International System of Units, the SI, it is necessary first to establish a system of quantities, including a set of equations defining the relations between those quantities. This is necessary because the equations between the quantities determine the equations relating the units, as described below. It is also convenient to choose definitions for a small number of units that we call base units, and then to define units for all other quantities as products of powers of the base units that we call derived units. In a similar way the corresponding quantities are described as base quantities and derived quantities, and the equations giving the derived quantities in terms of the base quantities are used to determine the expression for the derived units in terms of the base units, as discussed further in Section 1.4 below. Thus in a logical development of this subject, the choice of quantities and the equations relating the quantities comes first, and the choice of units comes second. From a scientific point of view, the division of quantities into base quantities and derived quantities is a matter of convention, and is not essential to the physics of the subject. However for the corresponding units, it is important that the definition of each base unit is made with particular care, to satisfy the requirements outlined in the first paragraph above, since they provide the foundation for the entire system of units. The definitions of the derived units in terms of the base units then follow from the equations defining the derived quantities in terms of the base quantities. Thus the establishment of a system of units, which is the subject of this brochure, is intimately connected with the algebraic equations relating the corresponding quantities. The number of derived quantities of interest in science and technology can, of course, be extended without limit. As new fields of science develop, new quantities are devised by researchers to represent the interests of the field, and with these new quantities come new equations relating them to those quantities that were previously familiar, and hence ultimately to the base quantities. In this way the derived units to The terms quantity and unit are defined in the International Vocabulary of Basic and General Terms in Metrology, the VIM. The quantity speed, v, may be expressed in terms of the quantities distance, x, and time, t, by the equation v = dx/dt. In most systems of quantities and units, distance x and time t are regarded as base quantities, for which the metre, m, and the second, s, may be chosen as base units. Speed v is then taken as a derived quantity, with the derived unit metre per second, m/s. For example, in electrochemistry, the electric mobility of an ion, u, is defined as the ratio of its velocity v to the electric field strength, E: u = v /E. The derived unit of electric mobility is then given as (m/s)/(v/m) = m 2 V 1 s 1, in units which may be easily related to the chosen base units (V is the symbol for the SI derived unit volt).

12 104 Introduction be used with the new quantities may always be defined as products of powers of the previously chosen base units. 1.2 The International System of Units (SI) and the corresponding system of quantities This Brochure is concerned with presenting the information necessary to define and use the International System of Units, universally known as the SI (from the French Système International d Unités). The SI was established by and is defined by the General Conference on Weights and Measures, the CGPM, as described in the Historical note in Section 1.8 below*. The system of quantities, including the equations relating the quantities, to be used with the SI, is in fact just the quantities and equations of physics that are familiar to all scientists, technologists, and engineers. They are listed in many textbooks and in many references, but any such list can only be a selection of the possible quantities and equations, which is without limit. Many of the quantities, their recommended names and symbols, and the equations relating them, are listed in the International Standards ISO 31 and IEC produced by Technical Committee 12 of the International Organization for Standardization, ISO/TC 12, and by Technical Committee 25 of the International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC/TC 25. The ISO 31 and IEC Standards are at present being revised by the two standardization organizations in collaboration. The revised harmonized standard will be known as ISO/IEC 80000, Quantities and Units, in which it is proposed that the quantities and equations used with the SI will be known as the International System of Quantities. The base quantities used in the SI are length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. The base quantities are by convention assumed to be independent. The corresponding base units of the SI were chosen by the CGPM to be the metre, the kilogram, the second, the ampere, the kelvin, the mole, and the candela. The definitions of these base units are presented in Section in the following chapter. The derived units of the SI are then formed as products of powers of the base units, according to the algebraic relations that define the corresponding derived quantities in terms of the base quantities, see Section 1.4 below. On rare occasions a choice may arise between different forms of the relations between the quantities. An important example occurs in defining the electromagnetic quantities. In this case the rationalized four-quantity electromagnetic equations used with the SI are based on length, mass, time, and electric current. In these equations, the electric constant ε 0 (the permittivity of vacuum) and the magnetic constant µ 0 (the permeability of vacuum) have dimensions and values such that ε 0 µ 0 = 1/c 2 0, where c 0 is the speed of light in vacuum. The Coulomb law of electrostatic force between two particles with charges q 1 and q 2 separated by a distance r is written** qq r 1 2 F = 3 4 πε r 0 The name Système International d Unités, and the abbreviation SI, were established by the 11th CGPM in Examples of the equations relating quantities used in the SI are the Newtonian inertial equation relating force, F, to mass, m, and acceleration, a, for a particle: F = ma, and the equation giving the kinetic energy, T, of a particle moving with velocity, v : T = mv 2 /2. * Acronyms used in this Brochure are listed with their meaning on p ** Symbols in bold print are used to denote vectors.

13 Introduction 105 and the corresponding equation for the magnetic force between two thin wire elements carrying electric currents, i 1 dl 1 and i 2 dl 2, is written µ d 2 0 i 1dl1 ( i2dl2 r) F = 4π r3 where d 2 F is the double differential of the force F. These equations, on which the SI is based, are different from those used in the CGS-ESU, CGS-EMU, and CGS- Gaussian systems, where ε 0 and µ 0 are dimensionless quantities, chosen to be equal to one, and where the rationalizing factors of 4π are omitted. 1.3 Dimensions of quantities By convention physical quantities are organized in a system of dimensions. Each of the seven base quantities used in the SI is regarded as having its own dimension, which is symbolically represented by a single sans serif roman capital letter. The symbols used for the base quantities, and the symbols used to denote their dimension, are given as follows. Base quantities and dimensions used in the SI Base quantity Symbol for quantity Symbol for dimension length l, x, r, etc. L mass m M time, duration t T electric current I, i I thermodynamic temperature T Θ amount of substance n N luminous intensity I v J All other quantities are derived quantities, which may be written in terms of the base quantities by the equations of physics. The dimensions of the derived quantities are written as products of powers of the dimensions of the base quantities using the equations that relate the derived quantities to the base quantities. In general the dimension of any quantity Q is written in the form of a dimensional product, dim Q = L α M β T γ I δ Θ ε N ζ J η where the exponents α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, and η, which are generally small integers which can be positive, negative or zero, are called the dimensional exponents. The dimension of a derived quantity provides the same information about the relation of that quantity to the base quantities as is provided by the SI unit of the derived quantity as a product of powers of the SI base units. There are some derived quantities Q for which the defining equation is such that all of the dimensional exponents in the expression for the dimension of Q are zero. This is true, in particular, for any quantity that is defined as the ratio of two quantities of the same kind. Such quantities are described as being dimensionless, or alternatively as being of dimension one. The coherent derived unit for such dimensionless quantities is always the number one, 1, since it is the ratio of two identical units for two quantities of the same kind. There are also some quantities that cannot be described in terms of the seven base quantities of the SI at all, but have the nature of a count. Examples are number of Quantity symbols are always written in an italic font, and symbols for dimensions in sans-serif roman capitals. For some quantities a variety of alternative symbols may be used, as indicated for length and electric current. Note that symbols for quantities are only recommendations, in contrast to symbols for units that appear elsewhere in this brochure whose style and form is mandatory (see Chapter 5). Dimensional symbols and exponents are manipulated using the ordinary rules of algebra. For example, the dimension of area is written as L 2 ; the dimension of velocity as LT 1 ; the dimension of force as LMT 2 ; and the dimension of energy is written as L 2 MT 2. For example, refractive index is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to that in the medium, and is thus a ratio of two quantities of the same kind. It is therefore a dimensionless quantity. Other examples of dimensionless quantities are plane angle, mass fraction, relative permittivity, relative permeability, and finesse of a Fabry-Perot cavity.

14 106 Introduction molecules, degeneracy in quantum mechanics (the number of independent states of the same energy), and the partition function in statistical thermodynamics (the number of thermally accessible states). Such counting quantities are also usually regarded as dimensionless quantities, or quantities of dimension one, with the unit one, Coherent units, derived units with special names, and the SI prefixes Derived units are defined as products of powers of the base units. When the product of powers includes no numerical factor other than one, the derived units are called coherent derived units. The base and coherent derived units of the SI form a coherent set, designated the set of coherent SI units. The word coherent is used here in the following sense: when coherent units are used, equations between the numerical values of quantities take exactly the same form as the equations between the quantities themselves. Thus if only units from a coherent set are used, conversion factors between units are never required. The expression for the coherent unit of a derived quantity may be obtained from the dimensional product of that quantity by replacing the symbol for each dimension by the symbol of the corresponding base unit. Some of the coherent derived units in the SI are given special names, to simplify their expression (see 2.2.2, p. 118). It is important to emphasize that each physical quantity has only one coherent SI unit, even if this unit can be expressed in different forms by using some of the special names and symbols. The inverse, however, is not true: in some cases the same SI unit can be used to express the values of several different quantities (see p. 119). The CGPM has, in addition, adopted a series of prefixes for use in forming the decimal multiples and submultiples of the coherent SI units (see 3.1, p. 121, where the prefix names and symbols are listed). These are convenient for expressing the values of quantities that are much larger than or much smaller than the coherent unit. Following the CIPM Recommendation 1 (1969) (see p. 155) these are given the name SI Prefixes. (These prefixes are also sometimes used with other non-si units, as described in Chapter 4 below.) However when prefixes are used with SI units, the resulting units are no longer coherent, because a prefix on a derived unit effectively introduces a numerical factor in the expression for the derived unit in terms of the base units. As an exception, the name of the kilogram, which is the base unit of mass, includes the prefix kilo, for historical reasons. It is nonetheless taken to be a base unit of the SI. The multiples and submultiples of the kilogram are formed by attaching prefix names to the unit name gram, and prefix symbols to the unit symbol g (see 3.2, p. 122). Thus 10 6 kg is written as a milligram, mg, not as a microkilogram, µkg. The complete set of SI units, including both the coherent set and the multiples and submultiples of these units formed by combining them with the SI prefixes, are designated as the complete set of SI units, or simply the SI units, or the units of the SI. Note, however, that the decimal multiples and submultiples of the SI units do not form a coherent set. As an example of a special name, the particular combination of base units m 2 kg s 2 for energy is given the special name joule, symbol J, where by definition J = m 2 kg s 2. The length of a chemical bond is more conveniently given in nanometres, nm, than in metres, m; and the distance from London to Paris is more conveniently given in kilometres, km, than in metres, m. The metre per second, symbol m/s, is the coherent SI unit of speed. The kilometre per second, km/s, the centimetre per second, cm/s, and the millimetre per second, mm/s, are also SI units, but they are not coherent SI units.

15 Introduction SI units in the framework of general relativity The definitions of the base units of the SI were adopted in a context that takes no account of relativistic effects. When such account is taken, it is clear that the definitions apply only in a small spatial domain sharing the motion of the standards that realize them. These units are known as proper units; they are realized from local experiments in which the relativistic effects that need to be taken into account are those of special relativity. The constants of physics are local quantities with their values expressed in proper units. Physical realizations of the definition of a unit are usually compared locally. For frequency standards, however, it is possible to make such comparisons at a distance by means of electromagnetic signals. To interpret the results the theory of general relativity is required since it predicts, among other things, a relative frequency shift between standards of about 1 part in per metre of altitude difference at the surface of the Earth. Effects of this magnitude cannot be neglected when comparing the best frequency standards. The question of proper units is addressed in Resolution A4 adopted by the XXIst General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1991 and by the report of the CCDS Working Group on the Application of General Relativity to Metrology (Metrologia, 1997, 34, ). 1.6 Units for quantities that describe biological effects Units for quantities that describe biological effects are often difficult to relate to units of the SI because they typically involve weighting factors that may not be precisely known or defined, and which may be both energy and frequency dependent. These units, which are not SI units, are described briefly in this section. Optical radiation may cause chemical changes in living or non-living materials: this property is called actinism and radiation capable of causing such changes is referred to as actinic radiation. In some cases, the results of measurements of photochemical and photobiological quantities of this kind can be expressed in terms of SI units. This is discussed briefly in Appendix 3. Sound causes small pressure fluctuations in the air, superimposed on the normal atmospheric pressure, that are sensed by the human ear. The sensitivity of the ear depends on the frequency of the sound, but is not a simple function of either the pressure changes or the frequency. Therefore frequency-weighted quantities are used in acoustics to approximate the way in which sound is perceived. Such frequencyweighted quantities are employed, for example, in work to protect against hearing damage. The effects of ultrasonic acoustic waves pose similar concerns in medical diagnosis and therapy. Ionizing radiation deposits energy in irradiated matter. The ratio of deposited energy to mass is termed absorbed dose. High doses of ionizing radiation kill cells, and this is used in radiation therapy. Appropriate biological weighting functions are used to compare therapeutic effects of different radiation treatments. Low sub-lethal doses can cause damage to living organisms, for instance by inducing cancer. Appropriate risk-weighted functions are used at low doses as the basis of radiation protection regulations. There is a class of units for quantifying the biological activity of certain substances used in medical diagnosis and therapy that cannot yet be defined in terms of the units of the SI. This is because the mechanism of the specific biological effect that gives these substances their medical use is not yet sufficiently well understood for it to be quantifiable in terms of physico-chemical parameters. In view of their importance for

16 108 Introduction human health and safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) has taken responsibility for defining WHO International Units (IU) for the biological activity of such substances. 1.7 Legislation on units By legislation, individual countries have established rules concerning the use of units on a national basis, either for general use or for specific areas such as commerce, health, public safety, and education. In almost all countries this legislation is based on the International System of Units. The Organisation Internationale de Métrologie Légale (OIML), founded in 1955, is charged with the international harmonization of this legislation. 1.8 Historical note The previous paragraphs of this chapter give a brief overview of the way in which a system of units, and the International System of Units in particular, is established. This note gives a brief account of the historical development of the International System. The 9th CGPM (1948, Resolution 6; CR, 64) instructed the CIPM: to study the establishment of a complete set of rules for units of measurement; to find out for this purpose, by official enquiry, the opinion prevailing in scientific, technical and educational circles in all countries; to make recommendations on the establishment of a practical system of units of measurement suitable for adoption by all signatories to the Convention du Mètre. The same CGPM also laid down, in Resolution 7 (CR, 70), general principles for the writing of unit symbols, and listed some coherent derived units which were assigned special names. The 10th CGPM (1954, Resolution 6; CR, 80) and the 14th CGPM (1971, Resolution 3, CR, 78, and Metrologia, 1972, 8, 36) adopted as base units of this practical system of units the units of the following seven quantities: length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. The 11th CGPM (1960, Resolution 12; CR, 87) adopted the name Système International d Unités, with the international abbreviation SI, for this practical system of units and laid down rules for prefixes, derived units, and the former supplementary units, and other matters; it thus established a comprehensive specification for units of measurement. Subsequent meetings of the CGPM and CIPM have added to, and modified as necessary, the original structure of the SI to take account of advances in science and of the needs of users. The historical sequence that led to these important CGPM decisions may be summarized as follows. The creation of the decimal metric system at the time of the French Revolution and the subsequent deposition of two platinum standards representing the metre and the kilogram, on 22 June 1799, in the Archives de la République in Paris can

17 Introduction 109 be seen as the first step in the development of the present International System of Units. In 1832, Gauss strongly promoted the application of this metric system, together with the second defined in astronomy, as a coherent system of units for the physical sciences. Gauss was the first to make absolute measurements of the Earth s magnetic field in terms of a decimal system based on the three mechanical units millimetre, gram, and second for, respectively, the quantities length, mass, and time. In later years, Gauss and Weber extended these measurements to include other electrical phenomena. These applications in the field of electricity and magnetism were further developed in the 1860s under the active leadership of Maxwell and Thomson through the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). They formulated the requirement for a coherent system of units with base units and derived units. In 1874 the BAAS introduced the CGS system, a three-dimensional coherent unit system based on the three mechanical units centimetre, gram, and second, using prefixes ranging from micro to mega to express decimal submultiples and multiples. The subsequent development of physics as an experimental science was largely based on this system. The sizes of the coherent CGS units in the fields of electricity and magnetism proved to be inconvenient so, in the 1880s, the BAAS and the International Electrical Congress, predecessor of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), approved a mutually coherent set of practical units. Among them were the ohm for electrical resistance, the volt for electromotive force, and the ampere for electric current. After the signing of the Convention du Mètre on 20 May 1875, which created the BIPM and established the CGPM and the CIPM, work began on the construction of new international prototypes of the metre and kilogram. In 1889 the first CGPM sanctioned the international prototypes for the metre and the kilogram. Together with the astronomical second as the unit of time, these units constituted a three-dimensional mechanical unit system similar to the CGS system, but with the base units metre, kilogram, and second, the MKS system. In 1901 Giorgi showed that it is possible to combine the mechanical units of this metre-kilogram-second system with the practical electrical units to form a single coherent four-dimensional system by adding to the three base units a fourth unit, of an electrical nature such as the ampere or the ohm, and rewriting the equations occurring in electromagnetism in the so-called rationalized form. Giorgi s proposal opened the path to a number of new developments. After the revision of the Convention du Mètre by the 6th CGPM in 1921, which extended the scope and responsibilities of the BIPM to other fields in physics, and the subsequent creation of the Consultative Committee for Electricity (CCE) by the 7th CGPM in 1927, the Giorgi proposal was thoroughly discussed by the IEC, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and other international organizations. This led the CCE to propose, in 1939, the adoption of a four-dimensional system based on the metre, kilogram, second, and ampere, the MKSA system, a proposal approved by the CIPM in 1946.

18 110 Introduction Following an international enquiry by the BIPM, which began in 1948, the 10th CGPM, in 1954, approved the introduction of the ampere, the kelvin, and the candela as base units, respectively, for electric current, thermodynamic temperature, and luminous intensity. The name Système International d Unités, with the abbreviation SI, was given to the system by the 11th CGPM in At the 14th CGPM in 1971, after lengthy discussions between physicists and chemists, the current version of the SI was completed by adding the mole as the base unit for amount of substance, bringing the total number of base units to seven.

19 111 2 SI units 2.1 SI base units Formal definitions of all SI base units are adopted by the CGPM. The first two definitions were adopted in 1889, and the most recent in These definitions are modified from time to time as science advances Definitions Current definitions of the base units, as taken from the Comptes Rendus (CR) of the corresponding CGPM, are shown below indented and in a heavy sans-serif font. Related decisions which clarify these definitions but are not formally part of them, as taken from the Comptes Rendus of the corresponding CGPM or the Procès-Verbaux (PV) of the CIPM, are also shown indented but in a sans-serif font of normal weight. The linking text provides historical notes and explanations, but is not part of the definitions themselves. It is important to distinguish between the definition of a unit and its realization. The definition of each base unit of the SI is carefully drawn up so that it is unique and provides a sound theoretical basis upon which the most accurate and reproducible measurements can be made. The realization of the definition of a unit is the procedure by which the definition may be used to establish the value and associated uncertainty of a quantity of the same kind as the unit. A description of how the definitions of some important units are realized in practice is given on the BIPM website, A coherent SI derived unit is defined uniquely only in terms of SI base units. For example, the coherent SI derived unit of resistance, the ohm, symbol Ω, is uniquely defined by the relation Ω = m 2 kg s 3 A 2, which follows from the definition of the quantity electrical resistance. However any method consistent with the laws of physics could be used to realize any SI unit. For example, the unit ohm can be realized with high accuracy using the quantum Hall effect and the value of the von Klitzing constant recommended by the CIPM (see pp. 163 and 166, respectively, Appendix 1). Finally, it should be recognized that although the seven base quantities length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity are by convention regarded as independent, their respective base units the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela are in a number of instances interdependent. Thus the definition of the metre incorporates the second; the definition of the ampere incorporates the metre, kilogram, and second; the definition of the mole incorporates the kilogram; and the definition of the candela incorporates the metre, kilogram, and second.

20 112 SI units Unit of length (metre) The 1889 definition of the metre, based on the international prototype of platinumiridium, was replaced by the 11th CGPM (1960) using a definition based on the wavelength of krypton 86 radiation. This change was adopted in order to improve the accuracy with which the definition of the metre could be realized, the realization being achieved using an interferometer with a travelling microscope to measure the optical path difference as the fringes were counted. In turn, this was replaced in 1983 by the 17th CGPM (1983, Resolution 1, CR, 97, and Metrologia, 1984, 20, 25) that specified the current definition, as follows: The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/ of a second. It follows that the speed of light in vacuum is exactly metres per second, c 0 = m/s. The original international prototype of the metre, which was sanctioned by the 1st CGPM in 1889 (CR, 34-38), is still kept at the BIPM under conditions specified in The symbol, c 0 (or sometimes simply c), is the conventional symbol for the speed of light in vacuum Unit of mass (kilogram) The international prototype of the kilogram, an artefact made of platinum-iridium, is kept at the BIPM under the conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889 (CR, 34-38) when it sanctioned the prototype and declared: This prototype shall henceforth be considered to be the unit of mass. The 3rd CGPM (1901, CR, 70), in a declaration intended to end the ambiguity in popular usage concerning the use of the word weight, confirmed that: The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram. The complete declaration appears on p It follows that the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram is always 1 kilogram exactly, m (K ) = 1 kg. However, due to the inevitable accumulation of contaminants on surfaces, the international prototype is subject to reversible surface contamination that approaches 1 µg per year in mass. For this reason, the CIPM declared that, pending further research, the reference mass of the international prototype is that immediately after cleaning and washing by a specified method (PV, 1989, 57, and PV, 1990, 58, 95-97). The reference mass thus defined is used to calibrate national standards of platinum-iridium alloy (Metrologia, 1994, 31, ). The symbol, m (K ), is used to denote the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram, K Unit of time (second) The unit of time, the second, was at one time considered to be the fraction 1/ of the mean solar day. The exact definition of mean solar day was left to the astronomers. However measurements showed that irregularities in the rotation of the Earth made this an unsatisfactory definition. In order to define the unit of time more precisely, the 11th CGPM (1960, Resolution 9; CR, 86) adopted a definition given by the International Astronomical Union based on the tropical year Experimental work, however, had already shown that an atomic standard of time, based on a transition between two energy levels of an atom or a molecule, could be realized and